Baby Hawk on the loose
by Sasuke vs. Itachi
Summary: Once the gas cleared away, Tony was surprised to find a baby where Hawkeye had been. The Avengers aren't too sure how to deal with a baby, even if Clint still had an adult mind. Somehow Hawkeye still manages to get into trouble and the Avengers learn it is harder to watch a kid than they thought. De-aged!Hawkeye. Protective!Bruce/Hulk. Avengers friend fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, just playing with them.

 **Note:** I should be working on my other story but I'm stuck on that and then I found this story I had started a while back and decided to publish it. I liked reading some baby/de-aged-Clint fic and I thought I would try one. This is my first Avengers fic, Avengers friend fic, protective!Bruce/Hulk, de-aged!Hawkeye. All mistakes are my own. This story is set some time after the first Avengers movie but definitely before the second one. I do so hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

 **"Hawkeye!"**

Came the panicked shout from Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man; as a strange gas engulfed Clint's body. As Tony moved; taking out what was left of the crazy scientists and henchmen that had attacked Clint, he recalled how this day had started out so nicely. But, of course, an Avenger's day is never easy for long.

Only Clint and him had been in the Tower when they got the call of trouble. Pepper was on a business trip, Natasha was on a long-term mission, and Thor in Asgard. While Steve and Bruce had been called to the Hellicarrier earlier in the day to look over some stuff and would be back shortly. As it was only some crazy scientist and their heavy-handed henchmen, Clint and Tony figured they could handle it. Iron Man truly hoped they weren't just proved wrong; he dreaded facing the Widow's wrath and possibly the Hulks' should anything happen to Hawkeye.

Tony cautiously approached Clint as the gas started clearing away. Tony dreaded finding Clint dead or dying, as he had no clue was this gas could do. So he was surprised and slightly alarmed when instead of seeing Clint he saw a baby, swamped in Clint's clothing. Tony, bewildered, carefully picked the baby up; wrapping Clint's shirt around it. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Tony had known the baby was Clint. It really clicked when he saw the baby looked so much like Hawkeye, with pale blond hair and skin yet unmarred by the sun. What really let him know it was Clint was the baby's beautiful tri-colored eyes that were the same as Hawkeyes'.

Tony was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard baby Clint speaking, surprisingly maturely,

"Tony what the hell happened and why am I so small?" looking up at Iron Man, from staring at his own small hands, he demanded, "Put me down!"

Tony, shaking off his surprise rather quickly, threw a devious grin at baby Clint and, ignoring his question and demand, carried/flew him all the way back to the tower in his Iron Man suit and all.

Tony, with Clint sleeping in his arms, was greeted by Bruce and Steve as he reached home. Rogers and Banner had come back some time during the earlier trouble. They both noticed that Hawkeye was not back with Tony and though it wasn't like Clint had to be with Tony 24/7, it was still odd. Then, of course, the other odd factor being that Stark was holding a strange baby and that most likely wasn't his. Putting them at slight unease; they were both gaping at the strange spectacle with a loss for words, after a moment Steve collects himself enough to ask,

"What happened, where is Hawkeye? And what is with the baby, please tell me you didn't find out you are a father to the child?"

Tony gave him a mock wounded look, "Really Steve, womanizer I may be; however, I would know if I had a kid. I'm not even that fond of kids. But no, it's odder, take a closer look."

Both Steve and Bruce moved closer and got a good look at the sleeping baby. They couldn't see his eyes but the kid did look familiar. Both weren't too sure what to think; Bruce confusedly, brought up

"He kind of reminds me of what Clint would look like as a kid..."

He trailed off as the light-bulb went off in his head.

"No way, it couldn't be...Clint's kid!? Where is Clint?"

Okay, maybe not the right light-bulb.

Of course, Tony couldn't really expect them to figure it out as he had not given any details of what went down earlier. So before they could come to anymore weird assumptions and since he wanted Bruce to check up on baby Clint soon. Along with the fact that Banner was starting to turn a little green when not hearing an answer to Hawkeye's whereabouts also added to Tony's decision to end this guessing game. Tony explained all the details of what happened in their earlier fight.

After he finished talking he barely gave them time for the information to sink in before asking Bruce to examine Clint, who was still asleep, and make sure everything was alright. Shaking off the shock at the unexpected news; Bruce nodded in agreement to Tony's question and carefully took Clint from Tony and to the lab.

While Bruce was in the lab, Tony and Steve were in the communal kitchen. Steve making coffee while Tony was sitting at the island. There was silence for a while until the coffee was finished and poured and both were sitting at the island with cups in hand. Tony brought up a question that had been on his mind.

"You know it is odd, Clint was awake when I first got to him but then fell asleep not too long after I headed back to the tower. He wouldn't usually be asleep this long, I wonder if he is alright?"

"I'm sure he will be fine."

Steve's reply was not as assuring as he meant for it to be.

"Also why do you think his mind didn't go back in time with his body?"

Stark questioned more to himself than looking for an answer from Steve. Steve was about to try to answer till he realized that Tony was thinking out loud. However, Steve did point out:

"Bruce will probably know the answers to those questions, hopefully."

Silence fell once again, both males lost in thought about their friend and how he was turned into a kid. After a few moments, Steve pulled out an old cell phone and started messing with it. Curiosity got the better of Tony and he peered over Steve's shoulder to get a look at his phone's screen. Tony asked,

"Are you trying to catch up in the technology world there, Capsicle?"

"Yeah."

Grunted Steve, not bothering to look from his phone.

"I could help you with that you know."

"No thanks, I got this,"

Steve was too prideful to accept Tony's help and mostly did not want Tony's help because Tony was a pain in the ass.

Tony sigh, "But I could teach you so much faster."

Before Steve could bother with denial; Tony made a quick lunge for the phone. Steve saw him coming in time to keep hold of the phone. He tried to push Tony off without using too much strength. Somehow Tony managed to hold on and this led to an impromptu wrestling match.

* * *

The scene that Bruce, holding an awake (if slightly grumpy) Clint, walk in on would be comical if it wasn't two grown men who should know better; his teammates no less. If Clint had not been in his arms Bruce would have face-palmed at his teammates antics; as it was he just let out a loud, aggravated sigh.

Upon hearing that both wrestling members stopped. Steve was lying on his back, legs brought up defensively, with the phone held tightly out of the other's reach. Tony was nearly balancing on Steve's legs, trying to reach for the phone in the other's hand. Still frozen in that position both looked towards Banner; one with a slightly sheepish look, the other with a smirking grin.

Bruce glared at them, while Clint was giggling silently,

"You know I could have sworn it was Clint who was turned into a kid, no one else. Did I miss something else or did you guys turn back to children mentally on your own?"

Demanded Bruce, sarcastically.

At the commanding tone, both culprits sprang to their feet and away from each other. Steve looked about to defend himself when Tony (who could care less to explain himself) nearly jumped towards Clint in his excitement. Tony moved to snatch baby Hawkeye from Banner; however, he quickly noticed Bruce's green skin and backed off. Bruce managed to calm down as he really did not want to Hulk out with Clint in his arms. He had felt a need to protect Clint with the state he was in now, and the way Tony moved towards them made him on edge, bringing Hulk close to the surface.

Clint, for his part, was rather calm when watching it all play out; he trusted Banner to keep calm and he didn't exactly want Tony to grab him. Once the excitement settled down, Tony and Steve stared at Bruce waiting on answers.

Bruce explained that Clint was health for a baby is age and that his age was just at three years. He could walk some but it was still shaky. When Tony asked about if it was normal for a baby that age to sleep a lot, the answer was yes. Bruce asked if they had any more questions.

"Why didn't his mind go back in time with his body?"

"Well, on that I don't have an exact answer. However, if I were to theorize, I would say that since his brain uses electrical waves, it is harder for that to be turned back than the physical body."

Tony gave Bruce's reply some thought.

"That sounds pretty sound there."

Clint interrupted, asking to be put down. Though worried about letting him go, Bruce allowed him down. All three watched Clint carefully to make sure he was alright standing. Once they saw that he was fine, they turned attention back to their discussion. Steve asked to Bruce,

"Is there an antidote to turn him back or can you make one?"

There was a few moments of thought till Bruce replied,

"I highly doubt there is an antidote for something like this out there, but I believe I can figure this out. Not sure how long it will take and I need to run some more tests on Clint to see how this will work."

Tony and Steve nodded in agreement. Tony spoke up,

"I could probably help if you need it."

Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. The three were about to talk further when a crashing sound shocked them.

"Clint!"

All three shouted in unison, looking towards the sound. They found Clint on the ground, holding his side, not too far from a counter that was close to a vent covering. Surprisingly, it was Bruce who moved the fastest in reaching Clint; his skin slightly green. Bruce quickly and carefully picked Clint up; checking for injuries. Once he saw that Clint was fine his skin went back to it normal color. Giving baby-Clint a stern gaze, Bruce reprimanded,

"What do you think you were doing!? You could have been hurt!"

Clint was cowed at first until the end of Bruce's sentence. Once he heard that, he took offense,

"I'm an assassin, Bruce, I would be fine. I know how to handle myself."

Tony and Steve watched in slight horror, as skin gave a greenish glow and got bigger. Tony quickly grabbed Clint from the light green Banner, to be safe. Luckily, Bruce managed to get it back under control though the headache that brought was not pleasant. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he growled,

"Not anymore! Your muscles do not know the training, physically! You may know mentally, but your body can't do those moves now."

Clint conceded that he may have a point by looking away with a mumbled, "Whatever."

There was a tense moment of silence though it didn't last long until Tony (who couldn't take much of any silence) broke it. Tony, exuberantly, cuddled Clint closer (just to make Clint uncomfortable and annoyed) and exclaimed

"He's adorable, a mini-Legolas! Even matching hair color now!"

Clint glared up at Tony and tried to escape from Tony's arm prison, while growling,

"I'm not adorable, I'm an assassin Iron-ass."

The other two weren't sure whether to laugh or groan at the scene. They chose the first option; clutching their sides as they tried to catch their breath back. Calm reigned once again, as the three adult Avengers came up with a plan of what they needed to do.

"We need to get him some clothes."

"He will also need somewhere to sleep, similar to a crib, as his own bed is too big and someone needs to be in the room with him."

Right after Bruce pointed out that out; Tony raised his hand, waving it around like an excited child, able to hold Clint with one hand.

"He can stay with me! In my room."

Bruce spoke tentatively,

"Well not exactly, Tony. You and I both work with dangerous chemicals that can harm a child. Thor and Natasha wouldn't be here for awhile. So that leaves Steve."

Steve grinned smugly at Tony, and had he not had to hold up a reputation as Captain America he would have stuck his tongue out. Tony glowered at him, then decided,

"Well, we still need to get him clothes, I'll get Pepper to come back earlier and her and I can get that done."

The other two agreed and Bruce added,

"I'll get the crib built; while you guys are gone."

Steve decided he would try to baby proof the house, (though he wasn't too sure what all that would entail but he would try). Tony was going to take Clint with him to find clothes. So with that plan; Bruce, Tony and Clint went their own way, while Steve stay in the living area.

Tony contacted Pepper telling her it was an emergency and so she was meeting them in the first store of many not too long after the call. She was only slightly irritated at the fake emergency call because she had been working with Stark too long to be surprised or angry. Her irritation disappeared when she saw baby-Clint and learned that Tony wanted to do some clothes shopping.

 **~TBC~**

 **Next Time:** Tony, Pepper, and Clint go clothes shopping.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers, not a single one :P

 **Note:** Sorry I'm not really good with updating quickly, though I did update this story quicker than the other one that I've been stuck on. I really hope this chapter is good. Love to hear feedback. Thanks for those that follow, favorite, and review. Now on with the story. Enjoy!

* * *

Pepper let out a long sigh at the bickering behind her as she led the way through the crowded mall. What was she thinking when agreeing to go shopping with both Tony and Clint? She could have gone on her own or with just Clint, she wouldn't have minded the little Hawk. She shouldn't have let Tony come along. Of course, considering this was his idea it would be hard to shake him. Not that Tony was really into actually getting clothes for Clint, he was too busy fighting with the three-year-old.

"Iron-Ass, why can't you let me down to walk on my own!?"

Shouted Clint for what felt like the millionth time, though it was more like the fourth. Tony smirked down at Clint trapped in his arms.

"Well I would, Katniss, if your tiny legs could keep up with our adult strides; however, as that is not the case, and we don't have a stroller, you're stuck with this. We don't want you wandering off after all. Anyways, this is actually fun…for me."

Tony suddenly let out a gasp as he saw the kiddie ride in the middle of a mall full of people. Oh the blackmail material! Upon hearing that, Pepper turned back to see an evil gleam in Tony's eyes and looked to where he was staring at the kiddie ride. She let out a groan and when Clint took notice he started struggling to get away, yelling,

"No, there is no way in hell Stark! You're not doing this, you do this and I'll find a way to make you pay, I promise!"

Pepper rolled her eyes skyward and prayed for patience, though a small smile escaped her. Even with all of Barton's struggling Tony managed to get him on the little car ride. He strapped the toddler in before he could escape and started the machine. The young Hawk cursed the Iron-Ass as he tried to undo the straps; Stark started howling with laughter. Pepper got a great shot (with her phone) of Stark doubled over in laughter as Clint was glaring and flipping him off while trapped in the little red car. Tony couldn't stop laughing long enough to take a picture of the Hawk. They hadn't even realized they had an audience until Pepper took pity and got the baby Hawk out of the car and Tony finally stopped laughing.

The crowd dispersed once they realized the show was over and the three of them continued on their shopping mission. Pepper was now carrying Clint as he was angry with Tony, she smiled at the grumpy (and pouting though he would deny it) baby and enjoyed the silence while it lasted. They soon reached the clothing store the strawberry-blonde woman had come to this mall for. Once they entered the store Pepper exclaimed,

"This store has all the clothing a kid could ever need or want!"

As Pepper caught the dreaded look on both of the boys faces at the huge maze of a store, she decided they didn't need to stay with her while she found what was needed. They had already managed to find a nice, simple outfit that Clint was wearing now. The baby Hawk had on beige cargo-like shorts and a dark blue and white striped t-shirt with some baby army boots. And as such he wasn't in immediate need of clothes. Tony seemed to have finally realized that he didn't want to come here to look for clothes either. So she gave them an out,

"You know; I really don't need to hear your guys bickering while I'm shopping. So, Tony why don't you and Clint go get a soft pretzel or something. I'm sure the staff will help me carry stuff."

Tony quickly agreed and even Clint didn't protest as Pepper handed him back too Stark. The duo headed over to a pretzel booth a bit of a distant from the clothing store.

It didn't take them long to get their food and gobble it down. Once they were done, Tony wasn't sure what to do next or where to go. So they wandered around aimlessly. Clint was soon very bored and wondering how it was that he was dragged along on this trip; really he hadn't had much of a say in anything since turned into a kid, granted that hadn't been long ago. Tony was annoying and at least he could have watched TV if he was at the tower plus he would not have been stuck with Stark alone. With those thoughts, Hawk began plotting his escape from Iron Man and the nightmare of the mall.

Tony, on the other hand, had decided they were going to look at this cool store he had seen that had some parts he could most likely use in his inventions. And so, Clint was dragged to the store that had caught Tony's interest. Once Tony was thoroughly distracted and had put the baby Hawk down to better mess with some weird object; Clint decided it was time to move.

Using what little of his assassin skills he had left, Clint managed to sneak away from Stark. However, once out in the gigantic mall, Clint was not so sure about his plan. He had a hard enough time keeping his balance much less with trying to avoid running into others.

He managed to make it a fair distance from where Tony was though he had got knocked around by impatience, rude people and people that were in such a hurry. Honestly, he was quite surprised he made it so far without either someone asking if he needed help or falling on his face with his wobbly balance. Of course, he jinxed himself with that last thought as someone rushed into him, shoving him to the ground with a harsh thud. He couldn't help but let out a groan at the pain in his side from his unexpected meeting with the floor; he wouldn't be surprised if that left a bruise or two. He was trying to ignore the people that were swarming around him as traitorous tears stung his eyes. He was trying to get up quickly before someone else ran him over; most people were just going around him, some looked like they were wondering about helping. Clint had almost managed to stand back up when some do-gooder hauled him off the floor.

Clint came face-to-face with a fresh-faced, young male; most likely college age. The guy was the perfect picture of naïve, good Samaritan, with bright green eyes and dark-brown hair. The male was holding Clint at arm's length and carefully brought him closer, asking,

"So little guy, what are you doing on your own? Where is your parents?"

Clint, not liking how he was addressed, scowled and said nothing, not in a mood to cooperate. The guy continued on in a babyish voice.

"Are you lost, little one? How about I take you to an officer for help?"

Clint so did not want to draw the attention of a police officer on him and he was trying to figure out what to do or say to get this guy to leave him be. He was saved from having to do anything as he saw Stark running towards them from over the good Samaritan's shoulder. Clint was pretty sure he had never seen Tony as frantic as he was now, he was running as if his life depended on it. It didn't really occur to Barton that Stark could be that frantic over him leaving, until now; especially as Stark gripped Clint's unfortunate savior's shoulder and harshly spun him around, jerking Clint from the man's grasp and giving the poor, startled man a death glare. Tony demanded,

"What the **Hell** are you doing!? Kidnapping him?!"

Had they not been in such a public area, Tony would have already socked him even without his armor on. As it was, he continued his menacing glower as he waited for the guy's answer; if it wasn't good, he would find a way to deal with him. The male was shocked and scared as he was faced with Iron Man bristling with fury, scowling down at him with dark eyes and a stiff frown. And while his build was lean, one could tell he had plenty of muscle. Tony could be an intimidating figure when he wanted to be. The young, shocked male stammered,

"I-I-I-the-the-kid looked lost-I wa-was just trying t-t-to help-b-b-before he got ran over."

Tony was inclined to believe him but still had a spark of doubt that Clint seemed to have seen as he spoke quietly, not meeting Tony's eyes.

"He's telling the truth, I left on my own and he was trying to help."

At that admission, Tony turned his glare from the college guy to the toddler in his arms. Clint saw Tony's face going red and knew that if he had a Hulk, it would be making an appearance now. Tony's face was turning red from him holding back on yelling at Clint in public, in front of the young savior on less. He still couldn't keep from growling,

"Do you have any idea of the trouble you could have gotten into!"

Stark didn't even give Barton a chance to reply; not that he was going to, too busy avoiding Tony's eyes. Tony, in contrast to his angered growl, pulled Clint to his chest in a hug. It didn't last long as little Hawk let out a whimper when his side flare up in pain as Tony's arms tighten around him in the hug. When he heard that, Tony quickly loosened his hold and inspected Clint for injuries, carefully and discreetly lifting his shirt to check. Tony sharply inhale at seeing his injured side and glowered at the Hawk, demanding an answer. Clint sighed,

"It's nothing, just some careless person ran into me and my shaky balance didn't help matters."

Tony was still slightly enraged but not at Clint, more at the person who ran over him and some anger at himself even. Tony nodded stiffly at Clint's answer and brought him back to his chest carefully letting Clint rest his head against Iron Man's shoulder. Tony turned his attention back to the good Samaritan (they had kind of forgotten he was there) to thank him.

"Hey man, sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to scare you like that. And thanks for trying to help."

The male just nodded an ok still a bit shocked at the turn of events and at a loss of words; except for a murmur of—

"Are you Iron Man?"

Tony, not really wanting the attention right now, just grinned, turned around and took off, back to Pepper, without a word. Clint waved goodbye at the nice male from over Stark's shoulder.

On their way back to the clothing store Tony peered down at Clint, asking,

"Seriously, what in the **Hell** were you thinking? Do you understand that you can't go off on your own that easily anymore? It is too dangerous for your age and size. You can't protect yourself like you used too."

Clint looked away, guiltily, murmuring,

"I was just so bored and figured I could handle exploring around a mall. I'm not use to being this age or size."

Tony did realize it was somewhat his fault as well but still didn't know how to react to that statement, except with,

"Did you of all paranoid people forget how dangerous others can be! You're lucky you ran into someone nice."

Tony didn't really think he would ever have to give Clint a lecture on safety or the dangers out there, but yet here they were. He was beginning to think that while Clint may still be an adult mentally, maybe he was more a kid emotionally as he was physically. This de-aging serum was really screwing up the dynamics.

They continued on in terse silence until they reached the clothing store. As they stood in front of the entrance, the silence was disrupted by Clint's quiet voice,

"I'm sorry, I worried you. And thanks for finding me."

Tony looked down into Hawk's upset tri-colored eyes, hugging him close again and sighed,

"I'm just glad you weren't hurt too bad but man please stop trying to find trouble. Trouble finds you without extra help."

Tony let loose a little smile, Clint meeting it with one of his own. After a moment the air turned back to serious as Clint asked,

"Are you going to tell the others?"

"No, I see no reason too, unless you plan on a repeat performance?"

"No, no, I won't, so please don't tell."

Tony nodded in agreement,

"Alright, anyways I don't know who Bruce would be angrier with, me or you. Actually, I'm pretty sure Bruce or more specifically the Hulk would be angrier with me for not keeping a closer watch. And I don't fancy becoming a pancake at the Hulk's hands."

Clint giggled at that, which was cut off quickly with his own hands as Tony stared at him incredulously. Tony had never heard Clint laugh, much less giggle, ever; so it was an amusing sound to say the least. Tony snorted,

"Did the big, bad marksman/assassin just giggle."

Clint grimaced

"Shut it Stark, I'm currently a toddler there's somethings I can't help."

Tony was about to retort when Pepper walk up to them with a couple of bags hanging from her arms. The staff had already packed everything else up. Pepper had caught the last bit of their conversation and voiced

"Did all you two do was bicker while I was shopping or what?"

Iron Man and Hawk exchanged a look and then Tony answered, with a beaming smile,

"No, we also ate a soft pretzel, as you suggested."

Pepper let out a short laugh, shaking her head,

"Haha, smartass."

She then turned and head toward the mall's exit,

"Come on boys, let's head home."

With that statement, came the end of baby Hawk and Iron Man's mall adventure. And Tony learned that no matter the age, one should keep a close eye on an assassin; especially a baby assassin.

 **~TBC~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers or Marvel anything.

 **Note:** Sorry for the long wait, I kind of lost inspiration for this story and it is still not one of my favorites but I still plan on finishing it. I have also realized that the character are OOC, I think, I tried to have them in character at first but it just didn't want to flow that way, sorry. Anyways, hopefully it isn't too bad of a chapter, I hope someone enjoys this craziness :). Now on with the story, enjoy!

* * *

The sun's rays shone through the glass window heralding the dawning of a lovely, warm day. On a weekend morning such as this one might prefer to sleep in, wrapped in sun kissed sheets. However, for the ones known as Avengers sleeping in was a foreign concept.

All the Avengers were already up and moving. Tony and Bruce a.k.a. the Science Bros were in the communal kitchen having just come up from the lab. They had been working on turning Clint back to normal; however, they were having trouble making an antidote not to mention they kind of enjoyed the time with tiny Hawk. They had been working on a cure these past few days, since the mall adventure, they weren't too disappointed in not having a cure as it gave the archer a break. As they weren't in a rush Bruce started cooking breakfast for the group as Tony sat at the kitchen island nursing a cup of coffee and keeping Bruce entertained. Tony was babbling about his latest invention ideas as Bruce hummed along and made sure not to burn breakfast. Bruce wasn't really listening to Iron Man as he cooked, he was thinking about how they were going to handle a baby Hawkeye. They may have to put down some ground rules which would likely lead to a huge fight. Never-the-less, he had to know that Clint would be safe or at least safer and making sure he had rules and listened would be a good step in the safe direction. The doctor's thoughts trailed off as he realized Tony had gotten quiet and they both heard footsteps belonging to Captain America coming to join them in the kitchen. As Steve stepped into the scene the Science Bros saw that the Cap had young Hawk in his arms. When he stepped off of the last step leading to the kitchen he was met with a manically grinning Tony. Rogers did not get a chance to do anything as Tony swooped Clint out of the surprised super-soldier's arms. Stark spun around, pulling a protesting Clint to his chest as he did, and ran back to sit at the kitchen table. Steve blinked a couple of times before shrugging it off and joining Bruce to see if he needed help cooking breakfast.

Breakfast was an interesting affair, the four Avengers sat around the table eatting. Young Hawk sat in Stark's lap, holding a plastic baby fork ending in the shape of a teddy bear. Pepper had picked up a bit more than baby clothes. It had been mostly silent at first while everyone enjoyed the food in which Bruce and Steve had gone all out. There was scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and pancakes. When food started getting low, Steve spoke up, asking how it was going with figuring out way to get Clint back to his normal age.

The Science Bros exchanged looks and shook their heads before Bruce supplied, "Well, unfortunately, we haven't had much luck in that area. Maybe it would help if we could find the base of those scientist that created it and get their notes?"

Steve and Tony nodded in agreement to that plan. Clint, who had been focused on the food, perked up upon hearing that, "I want to come with you guys," voiced young Clint.

"NO!" startled Clint looked up to see three sets of glares directed at him. The Hawk was about to protest, a whine on his lips, when a cellphone went off and the Cap started searching for his phone. Steve stood up, patting his hands down his body and checking his pockets but coming up empty. He looked behind him and on the floor with no luck. "Huh-Um" coughed Tony, getting the soldier's attention, "Are you looking for this?"

In Iron Man's hands was the sought for phone, still ringing. The Captain scowled at Stark and held out his hand, demanding, "Hand it over, Stark."

Why he thought that would actually work is anyone's guess. Steve's sentence was only met with a devious grinning face, "Now that I have your attention, I am going to show you a few tricks that your phone can do; you have to learn more about technology sometime."

However, in the second it took Tony to look down at the phone, it was swiped by the toddler resting in the arm not being used to hold a phone hostage. Clint threw the phone across to Bruce (as Cap was too far, all the way at the other end of the table.) Bruce then handed it to Steve, who quickly grasped the no longer ringing phone. He pressed the home button to turn the phone screen on and froze, staring in slight confusion; his confusion soon turned into a grimace as he asked Stark, "How and why is there a picture of young Clint stuck in some kind of kiddie ride on my screen."

"What!" came the enraged shout from the current 3-year-old, cutting off any other reply. Clint glared up at Stark; grabbed a sliver fork that had been left on the table and stabbed it into Tony's hand (the one not holding him.) Stark had truly not suspected it and had been caught up in trying to answer Steve; that is until he felt a hot flash of pain in his hand. He brought his hand up, seeing a fork sticking out of it horizontally was an odd sight thought Stark. Stark seemed mesmerized by his hand as Clint was still fuming and Bruce stepped in to help. Hanging around long enough to make sure Bruce had all in hand, Steve went to go return the call as it was work.

After Bruce had managed to take care of Tony's hand and calm Clint down; then the three sat back down at the table to finish what was left of breakfast and coffee. They had been sitting in contemplative silence for a while, at first Hawkeye (now sitting with Bruce) and Iron Man were exchanging glares but after a bit they seemed to just let what happened go. The silence was broken by Tony's voice, "Well, I agree that we need to find the hideout of the crazy scientists; but it wouldn't be today, I have a business meeting in a few moments here and we need info."

"Yeah, we'll figure something out," insisted Bruce.

As Tony got up to leave he reached out and ruffled the tiny assassin's hair, making sure to retreat quickly so as not to get stabbed again. The toddler let out a surprised grunt and didn't seem angry anymore as he raised a hand to wave bye to Stark, along with Bruce, at the millionaire's retreating back.

As soon as Tony disappeared into the elevator, Steve came back into the room done with the phone. Noticing the lack of egotistical air, Steve inquired, "Where did Stark go?"

To which Bruce re-laid what Tony had told them not looking up from the paper he had started reading in one hand; and holding the toddler with the other. Steve nodded to acknowledge that he heard and sat down to finish his coffee. Now baby Clint had been long done with the food and was starting to get bored, wanting down from the table. So, he started to squirm around and urged to be let down. Bruce quickly let Clint down, once asked, watching to make sure he didn't go far. The doctor knew they needed to put in more ground rules for Hawkeye, but right now he knew not to be out of sight of any Avenger or Pepper. Surprisingly or not that was demanded by Tony after their trip to the mall. Bruce wondered how that came about and then thought it better not to dwell as he most likely wouldn't like the answer.

The two adults, one with a paper in hand and the other with coffee, watched the kid as he started to play with make-shift toy weapons (made in courtesy of Stark). Clint calls it training, Pepper calls it cute, Tony call it inane and Bruce and Steve smartly say nothing. The two watched on for a few moments; both lost in their own thoughts. One wandering how to teach the toddler rules for his own safety and the Hulk's piece of mind. The other thinking about the nightmare he heard last night from the young one and how to help when he isn't that close to him. Then Steve recalled his phone call and announced, "I need to get some paperwork signed and cleared up at the Hellicarrier, I shouldn't be too long, I'll likely be back by the afternoon. Will you be fine on your own watching Clint?"

Steve stared in askance at Bruce, who nodded though he was a bit worried about what if the Hulk made an appearance with just him and Clint. Bruce figured that he couldn't exactly just tell Steve no and make him stay just because he was worried about Hulking-out; plus he was better a controlling him—somewhat—and as long as nothing too exciting happened it should be fine. "It will be fine, Captain."

With that Steve headed on out stopping by Clint to let him know he was going, even though he wasn't sure Clint would care but it seemed the polite thing to do. After Captain America had gone out the door there was a couple hours of peace.

Once Bruce had finished reading, while keeping the kid in sight, the good doc decided that now would be a good time to put down some new rules. Bruce went over to young Hawk getting his attention and started laying down the laws. Most were common sense, such as, no climbing up tall furniture or counters, no crazy assassin tricks, and no playing with dangerous weapons or fire. To which Clint was not pleased mostly because he was not an actual child and they kept treating him like one. Sure, he was in a child's body, but really he was still himself and could think rational. Never-the-less, Clint knew better than to protest right now and possible activate the Hulk and so quickly agreed with the rules while not really listening.

The doctor was astonished at the quick agreement given by the arrow-slinging toddler. He had absolutely expected some type of argument. With the lack of that, he grew skeptical, doubting that Clint even heard what he said. None-the-less, he did not press the matter as surely Clint knew what would follow should he misbehave, and he did not enjoy what arguing with a 3-year-old would do to his blood pressure. So, with that taken care of, Bruce decided it was Clint's naptime and yes he did have a nap time to the chagrin of the younger one.

While being imprisoned in the fun size crib, a peeved tiny archer was plotting on escape and how to get back at the others. How the other Avengers were treating him was annoying him. They acted like he was truly a kid, toddler no less. He could still handle himself well enough and he was going to prove it, first step was getting out of the crib.

An hour had past when Bruce decided that was a long enough nap and went to Steve's room to wake the toddler up. Much to his dismay he was greeted by an empty room, no sign of the tiny devil anywhere. Swinging his head from left to right in search of the child, he was trying to keep his panic under control. But with no toddler in sight panic was getting stronger and so was anger. He knew getting angry was not going to help and the Hulk wasn't what he needed right now. He had to stay calm, he needed to stay himself in order to find Clint. Hulk would do nothing but destroy and possibly hurt Clint. So, using a calming technique picked up through the years and travels, he took a few precious moments to gain complete control back.

Once calmed Bruce started to wonder where the little devil disappeared to and how. He thought about the possibility of the vents but looking towards them he didn't see anything to reach there. How long could Clint have been gone, how much time has he had and where would he go? And why was another question but that could be saved for later. He knew some of Clint's favorite places and decided to search there first, after all how much trouble could the toddler really get into; Steve had baby-proofed things as much as he knew how. So he headed for the archery range first, hoping that Clint would not be actually trying to shoot arrows.

Meanwhile, Clint had gotten out of his prison after about 30 minutes of being stuck there. Once down and free he pondered on what to do as payback against the guys. After a few moments he decided to simply make a huge mess. He reached the bathroom first and was able to plug up the tub and turn it on. Finding bubble bath stuff, he dumped that in as well and left it to run. Next step was the laundry room, finding a stool, he managed to reach and turn the washer on putting way more detergent than needed and let it go. After that was all said and done he wondered what else he could mess with. He didn't feel like puling out all the pots and pans, plus that would make a lot of noise. He was not up to going through the others rooms either and could not think of anything else to make a mess. Suddenly he remembered the itching powder he had, it was mostly saved for Stark but he would make an exception. Remembering the powder and eyeing a pile of clean clothes on top of the dryer, he grabbed the clean clothes (noting that most seemed to be Tony's pants) and went to his old room for the powder. He made sure to spread the powder evenly and carefully before he put the clothes in their designated rooms. Snickering as he got rid of the clothes, he decided to head to the range and see if he could possibly use his old bow or any other weapons.

Once he got down there he went straight for his bow; to his horror his beloved bow was moved and locked away and out of reach. Just as Clint was contemplating on possibilities of getting his bow, his musings were cut short as a voice interjected, "What are you planning, Clint!?"

The baby archer turned to see Banner having entered the room and giving him a green-eyed glare. Without waiting for a response the greenish man continued, "Did you even listen when I told you the rules! I expected you to stay in the crib until I came to get you, but did you…no you didn't! Everything we talked about went right over your head didn't it."

As the rant progressed Bruce's skin got greener and his muscles bigger. Before it got too far and as the rant ended Bruce got himself back to normal. Once calmer, he looked to young Hawk for a reply and was surprised to be met with angry tri-colored eyes from the young archer.

"You guys have treated me like I was an actual toddler since the incident, now I understand rules for my safety but others like a naptime if for actual little children, not me. I'm still mentally an adult and can manage just fine."

Banner let out a sigh as he realized the kid had a point. That maybe they should have talked more about how affected Clint was and included him when making decisions, especially when the decisions affected him. But still Bruce had to get him to understand how it scared him when Clint had just disappeared and made him worry about the trouble the kid could have gotten into. Also that rules could be changed some if needed but they were there to make sure he was safe and that some, like naptime, is needed cause biologically he is a toddler and they need a lot of sleep. Bruce was not too sure how to explain all of those thoughts and feelings in words, but he was going to try, starting with, "I'm sorry, Clint. You do have a valid point. We should have talked with you about our decisions not just over you. We or I was just trying to make sure you stayed safe, and rules are used to do that."

As Bruce took a moment to catch his breath Clint spoke up, "It is fine and I'm sorry I got mad as well, I know you guys want to keep me out of trouble."

Banner nodded in agreement and continued, "Yes, we do, And can you stop with the disappearing act, I can do without the heart attack, it worries me."

Clint grinned at him, "Yeah, I'll try not to."

The young Hawk then lifted up his arms in askance to be picked up; which the doctor complied with. They both headed to the living room of Stark tower. They had not been in the living room long; Bruce had just set Clint down to play and was going to retrieve a book for himself, when Steve and Tony returned home at the same time. They burst into the living room arguing about who knew what. Bruce had turned to greet them when the laundry door burst open; spilling bubbles and water into the kitchen which one could see from the living room. At the same time JARVIS reported that one of the main bathrooms had flooded. Steve and Tony both stood shocked as Bruce turned toward the archer and growled, "Clint!"

"Oops," whispered Cint (he had forgotten about that) cringing slightly at Bruce's anger and the other Avenger's glares. As the three Avengers took turns berating him, Clint took pleasure in remembering the itching powder waiting for the others.


End file.
